1st Annual Red-Day
Fence painting is fun, Keller Williams volunteers discover
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"Like it? Well, I don't see why I oughtn't to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?" -- Tom Sawyer
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ROCHESTER — Not since Tom Sawyer's childhood have so many people been convinced that painting a fence is fun. Well over 70 people — old and young — came to St. Charles Children's Home on May 14, donned bright red T-shirts, and got to work painting the wooden palisade that surrounds the property on two sides.
The volunteers were drawn from Keller Williams Coastal Realty, with agents, friends and family members organized into nine teams and assigned paint pails, brushes and a strip of fence, by coordinator Sandra Dika.
Dika was happy to point out that not every one of Keller Williams' 108 agents from the seacoast area could be present, because some were showing or closing on properties as the real estate market kicks back into life after a year in the doldrums.
Keller Williams is now the third largest real estate company in the country, with over 700 offices across the U.S. and over 7,400 agents. The vice chairman of the board of directors is Mo Anderson, who celebrated her 73rd birthday on May 14.
"She is the cultural icon of the company, so we chose her birthday to do something for the community," said Dika.
In fact, it is the company's first annual RED Day, which stands for Renew, Energize and Donate.
"It is a community service initiative engaging the company's associates in giving back to the communities they serve across the United States and Canada," according to the Keller Williams website.
"Given the current economic climate, we know there are countless non-profits or community projects that are in need of resources and volunteers. We see this as an opportunity to give back to the communities that support our agents and offices," said Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty, Inc.
"We wanted to do something to benefit children," said Dika, "and so we asked St. Charles if there was anything they need done. At first they couldn't think of anything, and then they remembered the fence, which they call The Great Wall of China."
With the weather cooperating, the teams slowly transferred 25 gallons of buff-colored paint onto both sides of the fence, which was found to be, during the planning stages, 6,500 square feet.
Dika expressed her gratitude to the Brentwood restaurant Toss and Sauce for donating lunch for the volunteers, and to the Ninety Nine restaurant in Dover for supplying "all the water we can drink."
Speaking later, a delighted Mother Paul Marie, the St. Charles Children's Home administrator, said, "That group painted the entire fence in a short space of time and cleaned up after themselves. We don't know how to express our gratitude sufficiently enough to thank them for the tremendous job they did."
2nd Annual CHaD
Seacoast Classic Golf Tournament
From Left to Right (Michael LeClaire-Agent with Keller Williams, Jason Westcott-Builder/Developer & Agent with Keller Williams,
Steve Nelson 14yr veteran of the New England Patriots #57, Joshua Matthews-Agent with Keller Williams,
Brad Kelly-Mortgage Officer with Prospect Mortgage, and in front Nathan Dickey-Broker/Owner of Keller Williams Coastal Realty)
Keller Williams was a chief sponsor for the event and it was chaired by Dale Sprague of Keller Williams and we helped raise over $35,000 for the organization.
